Too Much Time Taken
by ditchedbyruby
Summary: The School made an unexpected and -unfortunately- healthy return. After kidnapping the Flock and everyone escaping- but Fang. When he finally makes it out he spends ten years searching for the Flock he lost. Now, he's found them. Rated T for safety.
1. Knock On The Door, Fang

**Author's Note: The beginning of a new FanFiction! Everyone say yay! Anyway, if you didn't read the summary... well, you're just stupid. SO if you wanna know what the story is about either go back and read the summary, OR-- I'm just throwing out ideas here-- read the freakin' fanfiction. It's RIGHT below this. So READ. Oh, and REVIEW. They make freaks like me unbelievably happy. ^-^**

**Disclaimer: **

**Me: I dun wana. -poutng like a two-year-old with arms crossed over chest-**

**Nico di Angelo (if you don't know who he is, go read Percy Jackson): SAY it. **

**Me: No.**

**Nico: Why not?!**

**Me: Because...**

**Nico: BECAUSE...**

**Me: I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES! Where you from, you sexy thing?**

**Nico: O_O**

**Me: I'm listening to that song... hehe...**

**Nico: I'm just gonna say it. MagnusMinion does not own any of the characters. Those are James Patterson's. **

**Me: -sobs- -throws hands up in the air- I THOUGHT I COULD WORK MIRACLES!**

**Nico: Nope. That's Leanardo da Vinci. **

**Me: -___- He makes me feel stupid. **

**Nico: No, that's just natural.**

**Me: DIE. -goes on rampage-**

**Nico: ** **-runs away screaming- **

**Two Hours Later...**

**Me: You have better stuff to do. Like read this FanFiction. Stop reading this and read what's BELOW. NOW. GOOOOO! **

**Nico: There now a possiblilty of another rampage... -shrinks- O_O**

Fang POV

This might be Max's door, I thought.

I might knock on Max's door, I thought.

Max might open this door, I thought.

Max might—

Fang! Knock on the dang door!

A deep breath, in, out, in, out.

Knock on the door.

Alright, so the School captured me when Max turned fifteen. And I mean _right_when she turned fifteen. We were out for a fly on her birthday and Flyboys showed up.

And I shouldn't say they captured _me_, they captured all seven of us (Total included).

When the chance came to escape, a distraction was needed so I told them to leave without me. It took all of ten seconds to convince Max to leave, for the flock's safety. Se promised to come back and I insisted she didn't—and all of this was being discussed while in pursuit.

Max kept within her promise; a week later they were back at the school trying to get me out. When the situation proved worthless, and they couldn't get me out, I told Max to leave a second time.

Of course she refused, so I pulled the ultimate. I shouted at her, saying that I hated them all and I'd be happier without them, once and for all. I even tried the whole, 'Yes-I've-been-working-for-the-school-this-whole-time-there's-no-way-you-can-trust-me' act.

We both knew that I'd been acting but Max left anyway, kissing me for the last time, but whispering that she loved me for the first. They were tears in her eyes as they left and flew away, even though she knew I was faking it.

They posted their general location on the blog, but they didn't want to be specific; that was too dangerous now that the School was back and functioning.

After awhile, they lost hope and stopped posting at all.

The only way I know this is because when I escaped (no thanks to Jeb, might I add) I went to an internet café first thing and checked.

_Last Updated 2011_

Well, then.

When I finally looked at a news paper, I discovered I was seventeen. That's a lot of time to go by unnoticed.

I had changed a lot, physically; tests at the School were still as challenging, and they were now ten times worse because I had grown and wasn't as sensitive.

In the end I was six seven and—not to sound full of myself here—I put on some distinguishable bulk. My hair had grown after the Whitecoats got annoyed and cut it all off so I could see when I went through a maze. But it was back down to my shoulders, and there was noticeable stubble on my chin.

By the time I landed Max's location, we were both twenty-seven. That's too much time,

I raised my hand and knocked two times.

There, I waited.


	2. Smart, Goth, and Mysterious

**Alrighty, folks! We have chapter two right here! And I got four reviews (which makes me happy) and I'll reply to them all!:**

**Orangeduck23: Don't worry, I have a legitimate reason to why it's been so many years. I'll explain in more detail when I don't have to worry about spoiling anything.**

**Fallen Ark Angel: One, is that supposed to be Fallen Dark Angel? Either ways cool! And I am updating soon, and cliffies ARE no fun... unless you're the one doing them. HEHE**

**Artyfan: I do love Nico, Fang, and Thalia. Wouldn't that be AWESOME if a REAL fan would play Thalia in the movie? I can totally fantasize but I have a fear of auditions. T_T And it doesn't matter that that has nothing to do with the story. ^-^**

**lexigrrl09: Where this story is going, you shall find out. BWUAHAHAHAHAHAHA-- I'll stop now. And I would've done something like that, but I can't imagine Max ever moving on without Fang considering her 'I-can't-stand-trusting-anyone-other-than-myself-and-Fang-and-the-flock' obsession. And... well the second part... Man, just read and find out!**

**Disclaimer: I don't see James Patterson when I look in the mirror. Hence I do NOT own anything coming from the Maximum Ride books. There, I said it. -____-**

**Nico: didn't even have to go on a rampage for that one.**

**Me: Don't inspire one.**

**Nico: O_O**

Fang POV

And waited…

And waited…

Then the door opened.

I was ready for either the wrong person or for one of the flock (preferably Max) to open the door.

But _not_ a young girl.

Her hair was in a small ponytail, so short that it was just a bunch of small spikes. Another chunk of poufy, wavy hair adorned the side of her face.

But her brown eyes seemed all too familiar.

She blinked expectantly up at me.

"Uh…" I started dumbly. "Is Max here?"

"Um, she went to the store but should be back any minute." She had small pink lips that looked naturally pursed, always open a little. She was very cute.

And she acted like there was someone named Max here, so…

"You could wait for her here, if you like." She said, gesturing toward inside.

I gave a small smile. "Okay, I can do that."

She led me into the apartment (a big one, too) and to the kitchen.

"You want something to drink?" She asked kindly. "We have water, iced tea, soda, hot chocolate…" She rambled on but didn't seem to notice. I smirked as I thought of Nudge, and sat down on a stool with a counter directly in front of it.

She turned to me and smiled. "We have a lot of food, too. There's a lot of kids here."

I was happy she wasn't too suspicious of strangers. She confided in me easily and she didn't even know my name.

"Uh, soda's fine." I said. "A lot of kids?" I repeated.

"Yeah. I'm one of four."

"Four? That's quite a bit." I said.

She shrugged as she scanned the fridge. "I guess. I don't have to deal with them often, though. They're at school right now, but I'd begged Mom to let me home school. What kind of soda you want? Pepsi, Root Beer, Coca Cola, Sprite?"

"Coca Cola's cool." I said. She handed me a red can as I quietly said, "Thank you."

"My siblings should be home a little before Mom, any second." Then she grinned, looking self-proud. "I calculated the time of their arrivals."

I chuckled, sipping out of the tin can. I noticed that the girl was studying me, and I tried to start polite conversation. But mostly wanting to get more info.

"So, how old are you and your siblings?" I asked.

"Me—I'm V, short for Veronica, by the way—and my sister Gwen, and my brother Leo are all eleven. We're triplets but we don't look or act alike at _all_." At the last part she shook her head, as if picking out the details of her and her siblings. I _so_ related.

"Triplets? Wow. And you have another sibling?"

"Yup. She's like my Mom's mini-me." V laughed a little. "She's eight but both her and Gwen are all tough with an attitude like Mom."

That's when it struck me. Could Max have—

No way. That didn't happen.

Right when I was about to ask what her Mom was like, she held up a finger.

"Prepare yourself. My calculations were very specific and determined my triplets arrival in three, two, one."

My eyes widened a fraction of an inch when the front door opened and slammed shut. Then a girl's voice called, "We're home, V!"

V said loudly, "In here, Gwen!"

That's when a girl with long, straight, black hair walked in. She was dressed up in black, with lace gloves, combat boots, and thick eyeliner. I guessed this was Gwen, and I started wondering what an eleven year old was doing with make-up on.

"Hey V, I—" She started, but then she saw me. She raised a dark eyebrow and looked me up and down. "What's a male model doing in our kitchen?" She said with a small smirk.

I nearly choked on Coke. **(A/N That rhymed!**)Then I chuckled and wiped the back of my hand on my mouth.

"Gwen!" V scolded. "I told you about hitting on older guys! It's—"

"Who's he?"

I twisted slightly to see it wasn't just me and the girls. A boy stood in the open doorway—opposite the one Gwen walked into, which was closer to the front door—his voice was demanding and I admit it was pretty scary for an eleven year old.

His jaw was locked, and his arms were crossed over his chest. Although I could only see one eye (his left was covered by a chunk of black hair), it was menacing as his black iris glared daggers at me. The boy was also dressed in black, but not so dramatic like his sister, Gwen.

"Veronica," He began, his eyes never leaving me. "Mom doesn't like strangers in the house. You know that." He said icily.

Gwen was still smirking. "I usually don't like em' either, but if they're all this attractive, I don't mind at all."

The boy's gaze flickered to his sister irritatingly. "Gwen, stop being immature."

I scanned the boy, approvingly. "Smart. Your father taught you well."

"My father's dead. But that's none of your business. Who are you?" He demanded.

That's when the front door slammed again. But it wasn't just kids this time.


	3. What Else You Need To Know?

**Okay so this one's pretty short, but I only have one more chapter after this one that's finished. Maybe I can write out the fifth one tomorrow at homeschool group... Yeah, you heard right! I'm a freak! Deal with it or die. Don't worry, I'm not gonna banish you if you cuss. See? SHIT. I just did. We're not all weird... Well, I'm weird in a way but--**

**Nico: WE KNOW! My gods, just stop talking already! **

**Me: -____- Fine. But first!:**

**Artyfan: Audition for Thalia! I'll vote for you! If... I become the casting director or something... which probably can't happen, but still! And thank you very much for the compliment that's (well, it seems like it is anyway) rare from you. ^-^ **

**lexigrrl09: I congratulate you and your figuring things out early. Good job! Also, because you asked, I'm posting another chapter! But it is a cliffie... another review another chapter. BWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA--**

**Nico: Oh, be quiet! You're killing my ears here, bee-otch!**

**Me: -___- You're not helping at all. **

**Nico: _ I'm saying it early: MagnusMinion does not own anything you recognize. Like Maximum Ride. So HA!**

**Me: Um... Okay...**

Fang POV

"That must be Mom!" Veronica said loudly, obviously eager to stop her brother. She laughed nervously before calling out. "Mom? Charger?"

I frowned when she said Charger. Maybe her little sister's nickname. I could hear high-pitched giggling and decided that I was correct.

"Yeah, sweetie?"

Although the voice sounded older, it couldn't be mistaken. I closed my eyes, realizing I'd finally finished my search. I took a deep breath.

"There's someone here to see you!" V said.

Mere seconds away from her…

Then a little girl ran in, grinning like a child. Well, she _was_ a child.

And that's when I _knew_.

Because the child, with her dirty blond hair, glowing tan skin, and big brown eyes, was a spitting image of Maximum Ride, when she was eight years old.

When she saw me she stopped dead and faced me and glared. She crossed her arms over her chest—like her brother had done not a minute ago, but she wasn't hiding anything like the boy had. It was like the difference between me and Max.

"Who's the big guy?" She asked.

That's when a voice behind me sounded.

"Excuse me, I'd prefer if you didn't talk to my children before me." She said to my back. "Who are you?"

There was a moment of silence. I looked at V to see her head bowed slightly, looking guilty for _me_ getting in trouble. Apparently she had no idea that I'd dealt with her mother before. Gwen's expression matched V's, but the boy looked slightly triumphant, but he held his mask of impassiveness up. The small girl smirked.

That's when I stood, coming to my full height, and turned and looked Maximum Ride right in the eye.

She took a step back and gasped, her eyes widening as she looked at me in shock from across the dining room table.

"My name is Fang." I said. "What else you need to know?"

**HA! Evil cliffie! If you review, you get another chapter AND a virtual carrot. I forgot my orignial reasoning for having virtual carrots and not cookies, something having to do with my other FanFiction but NONETHELESS! The green button beckons you... I think we named it Bob. But Ellie naming her laptop Fang kind of inspired me... **

**Go press IGGY! And Ellie's laptop, Fang, is overheating. Hehehehehehehehehehehehe you know that's hilarious...**


	4. Tada!

**Prepare yourselves for the cheesy reunion that's only logical. Okay not really but you get the point! I know how evil cliffie's feel (I read FanFiction more than I write it) so I posted another chapter, BUT this is the last one I have already typed out. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride because I am not a fifty year old man with Guatemalans in his basement. (-- inside joke...)**

**Prepare for cheesiness!**

Fang POV

She stayed there for a solid minute, breathless. The kids stood silently, confused.

After what felt like an eternity, I spoke.

"Max," I said slowly. "It's me, Fang."

"You," she started. "You were dead. You have been for thirteen years—you can't—you can't just—"

Then ignoring the circumstances, ignoring the fact that she had thought I was dead for thirteen years, ignoring the fact that her kids were there to see everything, she ran, hopped onto the table and slid over, crashing into my arms.

It felt so great to have her in my arms again. Although we'd both grown a remarkable amount, we still fit together like we did when we were fourteen.

She wept onto my shirt, gripping onto me for dear life. I whispered soothing things into her ear like, "Shhh…" or, "It's okay, I'm here…" and, "I'm not leaving…"

After awhile, Gwen piped up.

"Why'd you just call the random dude Leo's nickname?" She asked.

Max just seemed to notice that we weren't alone. She swallowed and quickly spun around, hopping off the table. "Call your uncle's and aunts and tell them to come immediately. We need a moment and do _not_ disturb us."

And with that she grabbed my hand and dragged me down the hall and into—what I guessed was—her room.

She closed the double doors behind her with a deep breath and then opened her eyes to me.

"You're alive… if I'd known I would've looked for you—but I thought—"

I came over and pushed the hair out of her face. "No," I murmured. "No, it's better you didn't. If you moved too much I wouldn't have found you."

There were tears streaming down her face and I brushed them away.

She leaned up to kiss me… but I stopped her.

Max looked up at me questioningly, as if finding out I was alive and _not_ in love with her would kill her. "Wha—"

"Those kids are yours?" I asked.

"Yes, but—"

"Who's their father?"

She looked up at me, completely speechless. Then she laughed.

I'm serious, she _laughed_.

"Fang! I can't believe this!" She said putting her hand to her forehead. "You think I—I can't believe it!" She said, chuckling.

"What so ridiculous?" I asked, completely serious about the situation.

"Don't you remember?" She asked, looking in my eyes. "The night before my birthday when we flew out together…?"

"Of course I remember, I couldn't forget." I said. "But I asked you—"

Then it hit me. Hard.

She smiled when I realized. She put her hands on my face.

"They're yours, Fang. They all are."

So you can imagine being told that after thirteen years without seeing someone you're the father of four kids is a little weird.

"We had triplets?" I asked after a long silence.

She nodded, laughing a musical laugh. "Yes we did."

"Man, we did it harder than I thought…" I said.

She laughed again. But then I calculated.

"How could we have an eight year old?"

Max nodded understandingly. "She, you and I didn't create ourselves. The School wanted to see if their experiments could reproduce. And they did do this experiment when we were both at the school, but we were all unaware I was already pregnant. One day," Here Max laughed slightly. "Jeb shows up at my door—when I already have three three-year-olds pulling at my legs—and gives me another baby, explaining that it had taken a year for them to figure out the details, and then another nine months for the baby to go through pregnancy in a test tube and voila, there was another kid."

When I just stared at her, she smiled.

"They're all yours, Fang. Even Max is."

I frowned. "You named her after yourself?"

She shrugged. "I couldn't help it. You know, I named my son Leo. But after accidentally calling him Fang time after time everyone else calls him that, too."

"I—" I spluttered. "I have four kids."

She nodded.

Then I realized I had so much more, and beamed down at Max.

"I have you." I said. Then leaned down and pressed my lips to hers.

It was like being a sugar addict and getting a taste of cotton candy after thirteen years of nothing. Max eagerly kissed me back, her hands tangling in my hair. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her to me.

I don't think we'd ever kissed like that before. Maybe when we were hormonal teenagers but this… this was after thirteen years of no one.

My hands floated down her arms and back up again, my lips and tongue working with hers in sync. I basically had her lifted off the floor and pressed against the door.

I could taste her tears. They were definitely something I was aware of.

But I don't think she noticed the one single tear I shed.

I finally pulled back, and smiled.

"I wanna see my kids." I said.


	5. Hello, Son

**Alright so I SERIOUSLY love this chapter. It's a -SHOCK- moment that we all know and love. ^-^ Although it's only with ONE of the kids. So we have more cute 'awwwwww's with the others and more -SHOCK- when the flock shows because remember, the girls had called them and told them to come, NOT knowing what was going on either. And I'm gonn have Angel come late so they don't know what's going on.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize. -cringe-**

Fang POV

Max looked up at me and smiled. "Okay." She said quietly.

She took my hand and opened the door, leading me out into the hallway. We could hear the kids in the kitchen, getting food out and attempting to figure out what was going on.

"Why did Mom start crying on a random guys shoulder?" Gwen was asking.

"I wanna know why she was crying in the first place." Said V. "I've never, _ever_ seen her cry before. And I didn't think I ever would."

When we walked into the kitchen, I saw it was only the three girls. Leo wasn't present.

Silence followed.

"Um, can you give us a minute?" Max asked me. Obviously she wanted to explain it to them alone. I nodded and walked to the back of the apartment as Max began to explain.

I didn't really want to leave. Who would? I was about to be revealed as a father.

Father. That sounds different.

When I came upon more doors, I pushed the first open.

It was a multi-colored room with posters on the walls. There was a bookshelf and a globe in a corner, so I guessed it was V's room.

The next door was a room with blue and green everywhere. The ceiling was painted like a sky, and the walls painted like a beach. I guessed it was Mini-Max's.

Door number three was a gothic room, filled with dark purples and black, the bed skirt was black lace, even. Obviously Gwen's room. I wondered what I would do with a little goth girl as a daughter. But I didn't mind; she could express herself however she wanted too.

I didn't have to guess for the last door. When I opened it I wasn't surprised to find the room looked exactly like my own, when we were living in the E shaped house in Colorado; it was all black and plain.

Pushing the door open further, I stepped inside. There was a bed set in the corner, closest to the window (exactly where my bed was. Easier to escape if needed). There was a dresser, and then a desk.

I approached the desk, which had only two items on it: a picture frame, and a feather.

When I realized what the picture was of, and who's feather was on the desk my eyes widened.

The photo was one that Max had taken of me, when we were fourteen. I was facing away from the camera and my wings were out, coming out between my bare shoulder blades. It was a foggy day, so the lower half of my body was shrouded in a light gray mist. My profile was hidden in shadow. Max had said it was the perfect picture to represent me.

The feather was black, and when I picked it up, it shined purple in the little light in the room.

It was my feather.

Suddenly, the feather was ripped out of my grasp and Leo stood in front of me. He looked furious.

"Don't. Touch. My. Things." He said.

I calmly looked back at him. "The picture's pretty creepy."

His fists clenched angrily. "Don't you dare speak of my dad so lightly! I've dedicated my whole life to being exactly like him!"

Although I was slightly shocked, I didn't show it. "And how do you know what your fathers like," I asked. "If he's dead?"

"Because my mom told me stories. She told me everything she knew about him. I know that he was the bravest man alive."

"Your mother doesn't know everything about who your dad was." I said.

"How would you know? You know NOTHING about my father!" Obviously, he hadn't gotten the memo from Max that I _was_ his father.

"Really?" I whispered.

He hesitated, eyeing my warily.

"Who are you?" He finally said.

"I'll show you."

I walked over to the window, and peered out. Then I turned and faced Leo, who was confused, and looked almost scared, but it was obvious he was trying to be brave. I pulled my shirt over my head.

"What are you—" Leo started.

But then I turned my back to him, and let my wings out to as far as they could go in the small space of the room. They had grown a remarkable amount, so they were bent a little in the lack of space. But it was enough for Leo to get the point.

Then I turned my head so it caught the shadow in the right place, just like in the picture.

I heard his gasp, and pulled my wings back in. I turned back around to a very shocked Leo. And with one whisper, his eyes widened even more.

"Hello, son."


	6. Surprises

**ALRIGHTY folks! Here's chapter six. I'm so used to reading fanfiction that I go confused and numb when I write it. And I'm feeling a little loopy right now (I do most of the time). I hope this ones a little longer for ya, and that it's not too jumbled (probably is) and crazy but I tried!**

**As for Gadge being involved... well, I'm still on the fence. I'm thinking probably not...**

**Disclaimer: no matter how many attempts at kidnapping James Patterson I have... well, attempted, he won't give me the rights. HENCE I do not own Maximum Ride or anything you might recognize. ^-^**

Fang POV

Leo stood—still completely shocked—and couldn't seed to form a coherent sentence.

"But—Mom said you were—" he began, but didn't finish.

"I've been gone for awhile. They thought I was dead but…" I shrugged. "I escaped."

Leo stared. I bent down and plucked my shirt off the floor, and closed my wings back in.

When my shirt was back on, I eyed him cautiously. He seemed to be staring off into space. I stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me with…tear-filled eyes.

"You're crying." I said lightly.

"No, I'm not." He said indignantly.

I chuckled as I knelt on one knee before him. "Yes you are." I wiped one of his tears away. "And that's okay."

When I said that, his tears fell a little harder but he made no noise. He reached out and I hugged him as he cried silently on my shoulder.

He pulled away after awhile, and looked into my eyes. "Where've you been?"

"Did your mom tell you about The School?" I asked warily. He nodded.

"I was there until I was seventeen. I've been looking for your mother for ten years… and got a little more people than I originally expected." I smiled weakly.

Leo smiled too. "Do you… like us? Me, V, Gwen, and Max?"

"How could you even ask? Of course I do, you're my children. Just because I didn't know you until now doesn't mean I don't love you."

Leo sniffled. I stood up but left a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, kiddo. Something tells me your sisters are gonna be curious too."

Leo nodded.

As we made our way back down the hall, I heard a young, deep voice.

"Me and Iggy got here as soon as possible when V called. She sounded desperate. What's going on?"

Iggy? Wait, what?

"Oh, Uncle Zephyr must be here." Leo murmured.

"Uncle who?" I asked.

"Uncle Zephyr. He's not really related to Mom, but he's like her little brother."

I was about to ask more, but there was no need to anymore.

We came out of the hallway and into the front living room, the first by the front door. Max had her back turned to me and two tall men were standing over her.

One was lean and tall, willowy and pale. The other was also tall, freakishly buff, and looked a little more menacing. When we walked in, the younger, more buff one gave me a fierce angry look.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

Suddenly, Gwen was in the room, her eyes bright and excited. She ran in front of me, and then looked back at the two tall men.

"Uncle Zephyr, Uncle Iggy, this is my _dad_, Fang. Fang—" Gwen paused, quickly turned around and hugged me for a second. Then she continued, "well, you remember Iggy and Zeph. You went on all your adventures with them, right?

Then I really _looked_ at the two of them. The tall pale one somehow _did_ look like Iggy, just like man.

But the other one I couldn't get.

"Gazzy?" I spluttered.

The Gasman frowned and straightened, looking confused. "No one's called me that since…"

Realization dawned on him. "Fang?"

Iggy frowned. "It can't be."

All I could do was nod. Gazzy was so _huge_. I couldn't get over it. He was as tall as me now, his arms I don't think Max could fit her hands around, and the last time I saw him he was at my waist and his voice hadn't even cracked.

"You're dead. You have been for twelve years…" He muttered, shaking his head.

"No, not exactly." I said.

Iggy was the first to make a move. He stepped forward and put his hands on my shoulders, closing his eyes. I didn't feel uncomfortable, knowing it was how Iggy saw things. I was used to it.

His hands trailed lightly over my shoulders, down my arms, back up again, and a little around my face.

When he opened his eyes, I realized…

He could see.

"Iggy," I murmured. "How did you—"

I didn't have time to finish because Iggy embraced me. After a moment he pulled back, his mouth stretching out into a grin. Then he slapped my cheek lightly.

"God dammit it is you!" He laughed. "Where the hell you been you son of a—"

When Max cleared her throat Iggy quickly finished with a, "batch of cookies!"

I chuckled. "Looking for you!" I slapped him lightly back.

He laughed again. "It's Fang all right."

"One more thing," I said. "How can you see?"

He waved a hand, like it was no big deal. "Ah, a little money, some eye surgery and you're on the all-clear, you know?"

"Man, that's great." I said, and then I peeked around him to look at Gazzy who looked… confused; but not welcoming.

"Gaz," I said warily. "You okay?"

He opened his mouth, closed it again, shook his head. Right when he was about to say something the front door opened.

"Max, Max—I got here as soon as possible. What's going on? Is everyone okay? What happened?"

That's when a beautiful, model-like, mocha-skinned goddess pushed Gazzy aside and stepped into the our view.

"Max…" She started, looking at me. "Who's this? You have a new friend?"

"No, Nudge. It's…" Max started but was cut off by the sound of my choking.

"Nudge?!" I gasped.

She frowned at me, and then spoke. "Yes, I'm Nudge. And who are you?"

"…" I couldn't stop staring. She was a freakin'… _woman_.

Eventually, Nudge raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow in question and then turned to Max.

"Max, who's this?" Nudge asked, clutching her purse.

Gazzy scoffed. "It's supposedly _Fang_."

I gave him a confused look, I could see Iggy was too.

Nudge's eyes widened and she scanned me up and down. "Zephyr, you know we don't joke… about…"

Suddenly she gasped and ran toward me, her high-heels clicking as she did. "Oh my gosh," She said as she reached up and hugged me, her arms wound around my neck.

It almost felt awkward with her being so much older to hug her, but I continued to remind myself that it was only Nudge.

She pulled back, and laughed lightly. "Oh, gosh, my mascara's gonna run." She said desperately, swiping below her eyes.

I bent my knees slightly, looking at her. "There's make-up involved now? And high-heels? And… oh, gosh I don't wanna know what else." I said, but I was laughing.

She laughed too, sniffling. "What about you? I mean, you're huge, but I would've suspected that but I didn't know… Where have you been anyway? What did they do to you? What happened? Can I help? Oh my gosh, you must be starving! Oh, but maybe you're not homeless. Oh, what to do, what to do…" She said, circling herself. It was comforting to know she still had the talk-a lot Nudge-like trait.

I laughed. "Nudge, calm down. It's only me. And I'm fine, I'll explain everything later."

Max sighed behind us, and we all looked to her. "Well," she said. "Now we only have to wait for Angel."

**So... what if I told you that that button down there was Fang (or Iggy. Depends on who you like) in button form? Would you PUSH it?**


End file.
